Participants in athletic contests, particularly participants in team sports such as football, soccer, baseball, and lacrosse, that are played outside during the day, or in well lit stadiums, minimize the light that is reflected from their cheeks into their eyes by applying conventional eye black to their cheeks. Conventional eye black typically includes as ingredients Vaseline, lanolin, ceresin wax, beeswax, carnauba wax, and black oxide of iron C177499UV. Eye black may be applied with a finger by dipping it into a large container and wiping on the cheeks under the eye, or applied with a marker in much the same form that lipstick is applied.
In the promotion of sports apparel and equipment by apparel or equipment manufacturers or distributors, there is intense competition and one of the major ways that such companies promote their products is by having their products used by participants in high visibility athletic contests, especially those that are televised. For example the larger shoe manufacturers in the world have millions of dollars of endorsement contracts with teams, sports leagues, and individual players to promote their products through players wearing equipment such as shoes, shirts, wrist bands, or the like, having the logo of the manufacturer or distributor thereon.
Another product market area also usually associated with athletics, but also used for other purposes, are the supply and sale of decals or temporary tattoos having team names, logos, mascots, slogans, and the like. The decals and temporary tattoos are made to be bright and/or reflective and can be applied on different parts of the body, although the manufacturers often caution against applying them near the eyes or on sensitive skin, often because the products are widely used by children.
According to the present invention, a method and products are provided which utilize and simulate concepts from each of the three heretofore distinct art areas described above, providing a method and product by which participants in athletic contests can accomplish the functional task of reducing reflected light glare into their eyes while at the same time advertising a sports apparel or equipment manufacturer's or distributor's logo and/or name, or providing a like non-verbal communication to others. According to the present invention eye black, or temporary tattoos or decals having basically the same non-reflective properties as eye black, are applied underneath the eyes in the form of a predefined clearly demarcated geometric shape which provides a non-verbal communication to others. Unlike conventional temporary tattoos and decals, the geometric shape according to the invention is non-reflective. typically as a dull or matte black or other dark color having a wavelength greater than about 690 nm and less than about 430 nm. It is non-reflective in the sense that it reflects very little light from the visible spectrum and, therefore, appears dull or matte. Unlike conventional eye black, the material is applied in a clearly demarcated shape which--rather than being a blob or streak, provides a non-verbal communication to others, such as an advertisement for a sports apparel or equipment manufacturer or distributor, or a team name, mascot or logo.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of reducing reflective light glare into a human's eyes from the human's cheeks while simultaneously providing a non-verbal communication to others is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (a) Applying underneath the human's eyes, on the human's cheeks, generally covering a reflective location on the cheeks, at which incident direct or indirect light is likely to be reflected into the human's eyes, a non-toxic material having a non-reflective colored and finished exterior in the form of a predefined clearly demarcated geometric and predefined shape which provides a non-verbal communication to others. And, (b) within a week after application of the non-reflective material from step (a), removing it. Typically the human is a participant in an athletic contest, in which case step (a) is practiced within a few hours or less before the start of the athletic contest and so that the material substantially eliminates reflection of incident direct or indirect light off the participant's cheeks into the participant's eyes, and step (b) is practiced within a few hours or less after the athletic contest is over.
Steps (a) and (b) as set forth above may be practiced in a number of different ways. According to one particular aspect of the invention, step (a) is practiced by placing a stencil underneath one of the human's eyes and over the reflective location on a cheek, the stencil having a cutout of the clearly demarcated geometric and predefined shape, and then applying eye black to the cheek reflective location under the cutout, and then removing the stencil; and wherein step (b) is practiced by wiping off the eye black, or washing it off with soap and water, or both wiping it off and washing it off. Step (a) further may be practiced by repeating the steps of claim 3 for the other of the human's eyes.
According to another aspect of the invention, the material is a decal comprising a substrate, having top and bottom faces, the top face of the decal being the non-reflective material, and the bottom face of the decal having a pressure sensitive adhesive thereon; and in which case step (a) is practiced by applying the bottom face of the decal to the reflective cheek portion and pressing so that the adhesive holds the decal in place.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, the material is a temporary tattoo, provided on a backing, the temporary tattoo provided on a top face of the backing and illustrating the reverse of the clearly demarcated geometric and predefined shape, and the backing having a bottom face; and in which case step (a) is practiced by cleaning a cheek where the temporary tattoo is to be applied, putting the temporary tattoo on the top face of the backing on the reflective location of the human's cheek to which it is to be applied, wetting the bottom face of the backing with water and pressing it into contact with the cheek for sufficient time for the temporary tattoo to adhere to the cheek, and sliding off the backing from the temporary tattoo. Step (b) is typically practiced by rubbing the temporary tattoo off using alcohol or baby oil, or applying tape thereto and then pulling off the tape.
Regardless of the details of practicing the invention as described above, step (a) is preferably practiced to provide as the clearly demarcated geometric and predefined shape a sports apparel or equipment manufacturer's or distributor's logo, the logo having a size complying with regulations of a regulatory body which oversees the athletic contest. Further, the geometric shape may include letters instead of or in addition to the logo, with a primarily black or dark colored area sized to comply with the regulatory body's standards, and with the letters or any demarcation between any letters in the primarily black or dark colored area comprising a dull or matte color and absorbing most of the light in the visible spectrum. Alternatively the clearly demarcated geometric and predefined shape may comprise a representation of a sports team name, mascot or logo. In some cases the logo (whether commercial or sports team) may have a directional bias and step (a) of the method described above may be practiced by applying the logo with the correct directional bias under one of the human's eyes, and with the reverse of the correct directional bias under the other of the human's eyes; or the logo may have the correct directional bias under both the human's eyes.
According to another aspect of the present invention a decal or temporary tattoo having a clearly demarcated geometric and predefined shape and dimensioned to substantially cover the area on a human's cheek underneath one of the human's eyes is provided. The decal or temporary tattoo comprises: A clearly demarcated geometric and predefined shape dimensioned to substantially cover the area of a reflective location on a human's cheek at which incident direct or indirect light is likely to be reflected into the human's eye, the temporary tattoo or decal being non-toxic and having an exterior, when applied, surface of non-reflective colored and finished material sufficient to substantially eliminate the reflection of incident direct or indirect light off the human's cheek into the human's eye. Desirably, the clearly demarcated geometric and predefined shape is a sports apparel or equipment manufacturer's or distributor's logo and/or letters identifying the manufacturer or distributor, no part of the shape that is not a dull or matte dark color having a size significant enough to allow significant reflection of incident direct or indirect light off the human's cheeks into the human's eyes. For example, the clearly demarcated geometric and predefined shape may consist of a sports apparel or equipment manufacturer's or distributor's logo and/or letters, and a clearly demarcated shape will have a size complying with the regulations of any regulatory body which oversees the participants in an athletic contest by whom the decal or temporary tattoo is utilized.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention an eye black clearly demarcated geometric and predefined shape is provided produced according to the method as described above wherein a particular design is stenciled under a user's eyes using eye black.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for simultaneously reducing reflective light glare into a human's eyes from the human's cheeks while simultaneously providing a non-verbal communication to others in a simple and effective manner, particularly one that lends itself to commercial advertisement or sports team promotion. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.